Starbucks is trying to make the world a better place one grande frappuccino at a time. From October 9–11, 2013, stop in to your local Starbucks and buy a stranger a drink. When you do, the chain will thank you with a free tall brewed coffee.

The idea is sweet: pay it forward and see what can happen. But, we can’t help but ask, why isn’t Starbucks offering the opportunity to donate the cost of a grande caramel latte to a charity? Sure, buying the guy in line a coffee could make you feel good, and maybe he will then do the same and buy another stranger a drink. All we see happening, though, is Starbucks still getting your hard-earned bucks and rewarding you for spending by offering the cheapest thing on their menu. After all, it’s not like the people in there haven’t already allocated a five spot for their caffeine fix. If paying it forward is something you want to do, why not drop off some supplies at your local school or drop a box of diapers on the doorstep of that family with all the kids in your neighborhood?

We like the idea, Starbucks, we just think it needs a little tweaking.

Calling All Dancers, Fitness Fanatics and Performers! Are You MDNA Ready? Prove It.

Epix and Madonna celebrate the World Premiere of “Madonna: The MDNA Tour” on Epix by inviting you to audition for a chance to work out with the queen herself! A select group will be put through the paces as the iconic artist performs her real-life training routine she relied on to prepare for her recent MDNA Tour which makes its World Premiere on Epix June 22 at 8pm EDT.

Led by Madonna’s lead trainer, Nicole Winhoffer, and a team of fitness experts from Madonna’s signature Hard Candy Fitness gyms, the very people who keep Madonna in such finely-tuned athletic shape, an open call will be held on Wednesday, June 19 at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Anyone can enter; but only 500 will be invited to audition. Hopeful participants can register online at http://www.epixhd.com/MDNAworkout beginning Wednesday, June 12, through Sunday, June 16 at 12noon EDT. Chosen participants will audition for the Hard Candy Fitness team, who will whittle the group down to the top 50. This group will perform for Winhoffer for a chance to earn one of the coveted spots in the final group. On Thursday, June 20, the select 30 fitness and dance enthusiasts who remain will learn Madonna’s exclusive dance-inspired “Addicted to Sweat” training routine, that she used to get MDNA ready, and later that day perform it with Madonna herself.

Capturing one of the most spectacular and controversial extravaganzas of 2012, Madonna: the MDNA Tour, will premiere on June 22 at 8 pm EDT on EPIX. The documentary, an intimate and in-depth look at the life and work of this iconic artist and a backstage view of the highest grossing concert tour of 2012, will feature the electrifying performances of several of her biggest hits, highlighting her seven-member band, a spectacular troop of 27 dancers, and state-of-the-art visuals and sound.

Do you have what it takes to dance with Madonna? Now’s your chance to find out!

As single women who are also writers, we often blog about the misconceptions and unfair treatment of single and unmarried people. What would happen if all of us wrote about this same issue on the same day?

The Communication League for Unmarried Equality (CLUE) is trying to get all single bloggers together to do just that. On April 15, a day when singles pay more than their fair share, CLUE wants to have as many bloggers/writers as possible write about this issue using their own experiences and own voice.

A report by Onely.org, recently published in The Atlantic magazine states:

The U.S. government regularly and routinely discriminates against fifty percent of our population: single people.

Our federal code alone contains over 1,000 laws where marital status is a factor, and in most cases single people lose out.

Some of the most egregious examples of Marital Status Discrimination occur in Income Tax, IRAs, and Social Security laws, which all largely favor married people.

A single person earning $80,000/year could easily spend a million dollars more than his or her married peer over the course of a lifetime, based on only a few of the most discriminatory laws.

Interested in letting your voice be heard? In making a difference by joining thousands of single bloggers? If so, email CLUE at contact.clue@gmail.com.

The Communication League for Unmarried Equality (CLUE) is make up of :

Bella DePaulo, author of Singled Out and the “Living Single” blog at Psychology Today

Christina Campbell and Lisa A. of Onely.org, (pronounced wun-lee), a blog that challenges stereotypes about singles

So often you see “Such-n-such Awareness Month” or “Something I Can’t Pronounce Month.” Some seem obvious (American Heart Month) and others (On-Hold Month) not so much. California Dried Plum Digestive Health Month (no, I’m not making this up) falls in the You’ve-got-to-be-kidding category.

The president can proclaim a national awareness month. For example…

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2013 as National Stalking Awareness Month.

And it seems almost anyone else can proclaim an awareness month, too. Here are some examples:

Humorists Are Artists Month

Frozen Food Month

Umbrella Month

Straw Hat Month

Skyscraper Month

But, there are some awareness months we can really get behind. Here is a list of February Monthly Observances we love.

We’ve been following the foodie masses to Atlantic City for the Food Network’s Food & Wine Festival since 2007. And it gets better and better every year. This year, our on-the-scene correspondent Margaret Mieles talked best/worst with Andrew Zimmern, baby food with Tyler Florence, bitchin’ kitchen with Nadia G and desserts with the Cake Boss.

“Our first event on Friday evening was “Define Cheese Steak ” with Bizarre Food’s Andrew Zimmern. There were countless amounts of cheese steak – every style you could imagine. Andrew’s choice of cheese steak was a calves tongue sandwich topped with tuna sauce. Yes, I was scared. Maybe Andrew was, too. He was very standoffish at the start and would not allow anyone near him but as the hours passed and the calves tongue disappeared, he became warmer and I even got to chat with him for a few. We asked him what his worst meal was and he said his mother in laws roast pork last Christmas. Ha.

Saturday morning began with what we hoped would be an interview with Tyler Florence and then Anne Burrell. Tyler Florence talked about his baby food line called “Sprout.” He wants to change the way people eat by starting when they are infants. What a great idea! It is all organic and is one of his main focuses right now. He is also busy making wine with Mondavi. The name of his wines are easy to remember: “Tyler Florence.” When asked to name his favorite places to eat the world, he chose Baltazar in N.Y.C for their steak tartare. Chez Louie in Paris is his favorite French Bistro, River Cafe in London, and Casa Two because it is SEXY !! He then spoke about DiFara Pizza in Brooklyn.

He defines a great pleasure in the flavor and snap in the crust …When he was asked if his children liked his cooking , he replied, “they think my wife is a better cook.” My favorite moment was he said he spent $170.00 on a N.Y limo to get to Difara for two slices as he had a great interest in meeting Domenico De Marco , the one and only pizza chef there ! : )” (PS: Margaret’s dad is Domenico DeMarco!)

Paula’s Brisket

“Saturday afternoon we attended the The Blues Brews and BBQ which included Paula Deen and Tyler Florence. All I can say about that is that Dinosaur Barbeque in Harlem was the BEST … offering their brisket sandwich with their wango tango sauce and a jalapeno relish !! It was amazing . Paulas Deen’s sliced braised brisket was also nice in comparison to all the other attendee’s …

The Sweet & Stylish event, which is my favorite, was hosted by Cake Boss Buddy Valastro and Nadia G !! Nadia G offered a chocolate covered bacon that I would not mind eating everyday if I had access to it ! The salty and sweet combination was truly satisfying to say the least . Anne Burrell showed up but her only interest was partying and she did not pay too much attention to the fans who tried to get close. Too bad! We love Anne and wish she was more into being there. After several photos, she visibly seemed annoyed that people wanted to interrupt her during her partying (which was constant,) she got up and walked out !! Booo!

Overall, the event was really a lot of fun and a lot of food ! Can not wait for 2013 !!!”